JOSE Montalbo, team manager of the Palarong Pambansa secondary girls’ volleyball bronze medalist Western Visayas, said Tuesday, April 24, that he will be fighting for every Visayan and Mindanaoan talents against the massive recruitment of the eventual champions, National Capital Region (NCR).
“It hurts that those players who dominated the competitions came from our region. This is because of the luxury offers given by the bigger schools in Manila. We don’t have any choice but to make the possible challenge. We want to keep our talents at home and near their families while we develop their skills and values,” he said.
“I’m now looking at the higher level of competition that we have to level the playing field by upgrading our sports program here. We will no longer allow our players to be taken out from our supervision not until they are going to college. We will do everything we can to keep them here,” he added.
Montalbo added that many provincial talents who were recruited in Manila return home not finishing school because of poor values foundation.
“Athletes, when in Manila, are prone to many challenges and disturbances that if they have not established strong values foundation, they will fall and may not pursue their dreams. These are the things that we want to avoid. Further, we also would like to safeguard them from some coaches who make business by selling their athletes,” he said.
Moreover, as Bacolod Tay Tung High School vice chairman of sports development committee, Montalbo also wanted to improve his ceiling in preparation for next year’s national competition.
“Height is might, not only in basketball but also in volleyball,” he said. “We may have the skills but, we were beaten by heights during the Palaro. So, this year, we will bring our average height to a minimum of 5’6 to be at par with NCR and Calabarzon. If we can find potential talents of 5’7 to 5’9, well and good,” he stressed.
Meanwhile, Montalbo also praised his elementary boys for finishing silver medal in Palaro, losing the championship match against NCR by six points.
“That was stunning for a team which just earned their initial year in the national competition. And, for our school, this is a very big accomplishment contributing medals for Western Visayas and representing Negros Occidental,” he added.